Another PR disaster looks like it could be about to consume EA, following the loot box-related U-turns forced upon Star Wars: Battlefront II.

The complaints started at website Astute Gaming, which described how in the beta of UFC 3 the only way to obtain new moves and abilities is via loot boxes.

However, what they and other sites fail to clarify is that this is only in Ultimate Team mode, the equivalent of FUT.

Neither Ultimate Team nor loot boxes are new to EA Sports UFC, and although their usage does seem to have changed a little most reports suggest it’s actually slightly easier now to earn loot boxes by just playing the game.

There’s also no suggestion that loot box progression is any part of the standard single or multiplayer modes, but just Ultimate Team.

Not that the whole concept behind Ultimate Team, and loot boxes in general, isn’t horribly cynical and predatory, but this does seem very much a case of players paying their money and taking their chance.

But it’s an indication of how toxic the concept has become that the mere suspicion of further abuse has people up in arms.